Argument of the Day: Liberals to Blame for Virginia Civil War Controversy

Republican Virginia Governor who won election by posing as a reasonable moderate declares "Confederate History Month." Every reasonable person in the nation offended. Your American Spectator headline: "Leftist Race Baiting in Virginia."

If you charged our nation's top practitioners of political japery with inventing the most ridiculous possible right-wing response to widespread national outrage over a celebration of treason and white supremacy, none of them could've written a headline this perfectly shameless.

The absurd logical leaps the author has to take to make "liberals" somehow to blame for anything in this situation are the work of a certain twisted form of genius.

Bob McDonnell declared April "Confederate History Month" with a proclamation that called the rebellion a "war for independence." It also didn't mention the cause of the war, which is that the Confederates were fighting to defend their right to own other human beings as slaves. (That was the point of the war. The Confederate Vice President agrees.)

It was not "Civil War History Month." It was not "Virginia History Month." It was not "A Month-long Thoughtful Remembrance of a Shameful Period in our State's Long History." It was a straight-up celebration of the "leaders" and "soldiers" of "The Confederacy," which, in the view of the winners of the war (the United States of America) was never a legitimate thing to begin with, thus meaning it does not actually have history its own to study. And, again, no mention of black people, or slaves.

According to John Guardiano, the pro-slavery writer at Regnery's pro-slavery American Spectator magazine, outrage over the celebration of, again, treason committed by racist white supremacists, is just another example of "The Left's unconscionable and shameful race baiting... for rankly partisan political purposes."

Also, that proclamation celebrating the History of the Confederacy was actually a proclamation "honoring Confederate soldiers," which would maybe make sense if you didn't read the fucking thing.

But those soldiers! It's such a shame that they get disrespected, just because they fought their own nation to preserve a despicable institution.

The Confederate soldiers, moreover, were quite courageous and valiant in battle. And it is their courage and valor, and their implacable commitment to family and community, that we honor and celebrate.

And never forget all the valiant, brave men and women who died when the Rebels blew up the Death Star—Empire Appreciation Month is simply about recognizing the courage of everyday Storm Troopers, most of whom certainly didn't support the annihilation of Alderaan.